This invention relates to treatment of volatile hydrocarbon streams to convert sulfur-containing compounds and strip lower molecular weight components. In particular it relates to simultaneous stripping and catalytic hydrodesulfurization of C.sub.3 + aliphatics to provide a treated light olefinic liquid useful for alkylation, etherification or other downstream processes.
Prior processes have required a separate selective hydrodesulfurization step to remove reactive organosulfur compounds, such as thiophenes. Volatile feedstreams also contain lower alkanes and alkenes, such as ethene, ethane, methane, H2S and impurities which are removed in a separate stripping tower.
It has been discovered that catalytic hydrodesulfurization and stripping may be conducted simultaneously in a contact tower.